Spirits of the Shrines
Yapese · deity · perennial · Recorded classification
Collective Yapese spirit-class, entered as a single deity-class figure per the directive (spirit-classes map to deity/demigod). Native terms: kan ('spirit/god') and taliw (the shrine and, by extension, its spirits). Gloss 'Spirits of the Shrines'. Sex recorded as unknown because the class spans male land-spirits and female sea-spirits.
Domains
- ancestral and place spirits
Powers
- oversees human conduct of land and sea
Sources
- The Yapese recognize classes of spirits and gods (kan) inhabiting shrines (taliw), divided between male land-spirits and female sea-spirits who oversee gardening and fishing.: Müller, W. (1917). Yap. Ergebnisse der Südsee-Expedition 1908-1910, II.B.2, Friederichsen, Hamburg (ethnography); Lingenfelter, S.G. (1975). Yap: Political Leadership and Culture Change in an Island Society. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu (reference)